Target exec to testify at Senate cmte. on data breaches and cybercrime

The massive theft of customer credit and debit cards numbers at Target will be front and center at a U.S. Senate hearing early next month.

The U.S. Senate Judiciary Committee will hold a Feb. 4 hearing on preventing data breaches and combating cybercrime. Target Chief Financial Officer John Mulligan will appear before the committee, as will representatives of Consumers Union, the Federal Trade Commission, and the U.S. Secret Service and Department of Justice.

Both of Minnesota's senators, Amy Klobuchar and Al Franken, sit on the Judiciary committee. Target's headquarters are in Minneapolis.

Target officials say data thieves made off with debit and credit numbers for some 40 million customers who shopped at Target stores from late November to mid-December. The criminals also grabbed names, phone numbers and e-mail and street addresses for 70 million customers. There is some cross-over between the two groups.

Other retailers, including Neiman Marcus, have also been targeted by cyber criminals recently.

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